President Donald Trump. Photo: (Getty Images via AFP)
A US federal judge on Friday temporarily blocked the White House from moving ahead with a $1.8 billion compensation package that critics have denounced as a “slush fund” for President Donald Trump’s political allies.
US District Judge Leonie Brinkema barred the administration from taking any further action to create or operate the fund while she considers whether to impose a longer-lasting pause.
Her order blocks the transfer of money into the fund, the consideration of claims and the disbursement of any payments, saying the freeze was needed to ensure that no money was “irreversibly disbursed” before the legal challenge is heard.
The decision is another setback for one of Trump’s most politically explosive second-term initiatives, which has already alarmed Democrats, legal experts and some Republicans in Congress.
